Heavily Broken
by Another Wasted Breath
Summary: Rapunzel deals with the emotions of being trapped in a tower in the middle of nowhere and clings to the little hope of escape that she has left.


A/N: A little excerpt I wrote when I was bored at work. I have been writing a Rapunzel story, but I don't think this will fit into it. We will see! It's a little dark, but enjoy!

Heavily Broken

I love the smell of rain. It smells of cleanliness, renewal, and hope. I stand at the window and gaze out at the freshly-bathed forest. Just after a rain storm is one of the only times I can smell the flora from below. The raindrops wash away the grime and allow the fragrances to waft up to my window. I close my eyes and imagine touching the trees and wildflowers that I have only been able to smell and see from afar for so long that I'm beginning to lose track of the days. I'm getting used to the constant ache of every muscle I possess. I hardly notice it anymore. I've tried pacing the rooms, but that makes the fact that I'm confined more acute. Instead I stand at the window and pretend I'm not 50 feet above the forest floor. I close my eyes and remember what it's like to run and dance and go where I please. I took these small pleasures for granted. I used to enjoy sitting cooped up in my room for days with my nose buried in books. The grass is always greener though, right? I sit on the window ledge and dangle my legs out the window. The air is still damp; I can taste the moisture on my tongue and feel it gently kiss my skin. I close my eyes and listen. The forest is coming back to life. The rain has a calming effect on me as well. The anger, fear, hopelessness, and despair that consume me at intervals are washed away, at least for a little while. I lean my head against the window pane and sit for what feels like hours. I don't think, I only feel. I hear, taste, smell, and feel while my brain rests. Ever so slowly, the peace inevitably dissipates and leaves room for despair. Today it's despair. Yesterday it was anger, tomorrow it could be fear. I keep my eyes shut, and let the tears squeeze out and stream silently down my face. You would think I would have run out of tears by now. I know that crying is futile, and this thought just makes me cry harder. I don't want to be weak. I don't want to be helpless, but these feelings consume me. I'm powerless to stop them, just as I'm powerless to leave this tower. I open my eyes and continue to sob. I scan the forest floor below, staring with an odd fascination at the thorns below that surround the base of the tower. Ten, 15 seconds is all it would take, then it would be over. I'm sick with the thought, but desire an end to the suffering in a maniacal way that keeps me thinking. The sobbing subsides for a few moments as I consider the unthinkable. I begin to sob again.

I don't notice the shouting at first. The forest makes all sorts of noises, and I'd gotten over wishing that every one was something more than a rabbit running through a bush or a deer snapping a twig. It grows louder.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel is that you? Oh Zel!" My eyebrows sink towards my eyes as I listen. Well it's done then. I've finally gone crazy. I can't say I didn't expect it.

"Zel can you hear me?" I finally look down towards the sound. There, about 10 feet from the base of the tower stands Blaze with Cael on his back. I blink, then stare. Cael's face is small and far away, but I can still see his apprehension. Blaze paws the ground as if to show his impatience as well. So this is what crazy feels like? Maybe I won't mind it so much.

"Zel..." I can barely hear his voice this time. I open my mouth to speak, but my voice comes out as barely a whisper.

"Cael?" I swallow and clear my throat. "Cael?" I say a little louder, but with less surety. His face breaks out into a relieved half-smile.

"Zel, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. I don't know if happy is the right word. I'm relieved, joyous, exhausted..." He speaks so quickly that his words are slurred together. "Zel..." he begins tentatively, careful to not get overexcited again, "are you alright?" I frown down at him, not sure if it is a good idea to get too carried away in this fantasy. It could hurt even worse once it's over...

"I don't know," I reply honestly. He dismounts Blaze and walks towards the base of the tower, taking particular time to examine the thorns. He again looks up at me.

"I'm not sure how to get up there. I don't have the proper equipment...I don't have much of anything with me..." He trails off, and I can hear the pain in his voice. I swallow, still unsure of investing too much in the fantasy.

"You can use my hair." I say.

"Your...hair?" he asks in confusion.

"My...my hair." I repeat. "Say, 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so I may climb the golden stair,' and it will grow into a suitable rope." He stands in silence for a moment, probably contemplating the insanity of what I just said.

"All...alright then." He murmurs. He clears his throat. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so I may climb the golden stair." I feel my head grow heavier from the extra weight of the elongating braid.

"Just a moment," I say, and slip back inside the tower. He shouts in protest of my sudden withdrawal, but cuts stops. I wrap some hair around a hook that has materialized next to the window and begin throwing the remaining braid out the window. It takes longer than I would have liked, and my arms ache before I'm even close to finished. After a moment, the braid goes taut. I sit patiently next to the window, wondering if he will look as real as he sounds. I stare at his face as he stumbles in the window and onto the floor.

"That was a lot harder than I expected," he says as he picks himself up off the floor. I unwrap my hair from the hook and pull what remains of the now shortened braid back inside the tower. He finally looks up at me and I'm stunned, as always, by the blue of his eyes. So many emotions come rushing into me and I stand. The next thing I know, he's holding me tight as tears stream down my face.

"Shhh...Zel...everything's going to be alright. I'm here now, I'll get you out of here, and we'll go home..." he whispers in my ear and strokes my hair as I continue to sob. I look up into his eyes again, those crystal blue eyes, and don't care that I'm crazy. I don't care if he's real or not. All I know is that I love him, and I'm never going to give up on that.


End file.
